Daisy Garcia Montoya
Education Reporter 

When people think about civic engagement, more often than not, voting is the first set of actions that may come to mind. Defining and exploring all the ins and outs of civic engagement is exactly what local organization Revolucion Educativa (RevEd) sought to do and as a result created a new series on local civic power. This series aims for participants to have an opportunity to learn about how local government works and speak with elected officials. 

For its first event in the series: Local Civic Power 101, attendees arrived at RevEd (2301 Lexington Avenue) on March 6th, to hear an overview of different local government operations from featured panelists. 

“When you don’t know the system, the system forgets about you. We expect people to take action, to run for something, to take leadership, but really, we don’t teach ourselves how the system works, so that’s why we are here tonight,” said Ivan Ramirez, Director of Digital Experiences at RevEd.

 “Tonight, we’ll learn about what it takes to be in city government, in the county legislature, and also in the school board and I am excited to get started, to give a voice to those who are in leadership now and hopefully you, by listening, will be inspired to be involved or hopefully learn on how you can grow in the future.”

This event was structured as an interactive learning experience led by Deanna Munoz, in a Q&A style for panelists and followed by small group discussions. Panelists featured elected officials, local government staff, board members, and individuals with previous or current campaign experience. 

Featured panelists included: 

Reid Day: Chief of Staff for Mayor Quinton Lucas 

Manny Abarca: Jackson County Legislature Chairman 

Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan: Candidate for City Council (4th In-District) 

Crispin Rea: Councilman (4th District-at-Large)

Davin Gordon: Small Business Task Force Appointee 

Tricia McGhee: Kansas City Public Schools, School Board member (Sub-district 3)

Pat Contreras: Former U.S. Diplomat

Mayor Lucas’s Chief of Staff Reid Day opened the discussion by explaining the mayor-council- manager form of government, detailed the roles of the mayor, council members and the city manager’s office. 

In Kansas City, Missouri, the mayor and council members set the policy while the city manager handles administrative tasks and oversees the department’s day-to-day operations such as street plowing and trash pick up. On the other hand, the council focuses on setting policy, negotiating deals, and authorizing resources. City Council meetings also include committee discussions and legislative sessions where ordinances and resolutions are considered and voted on. 

When asked how an individual can influence a city-level decision, Day said that engaging with the city via email, attending community meetings, or even providing a public testimony can make a difference. 

“You can email, call, text, or show up at City Hall. You can give a public testimony and share your view and opinion.” Day said. “It is about being accessible so that you can come and talk, request a meeting and share your views.” 

After a basic overview of city government was established, panelists focused on campaigns, elections, and leadership. Councilman Crispin Rea (4th District-at-Large), candidate for Kansas City’s 4th District-at-Large Council seat Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan, and former U.S. diplomat Pat Contreras talked about their experiences on running a campaign, what led them to take that leap, and the challenges behind it. 

“Showing up is the first step, and all of you being here, I want to thank you for showing up. For me, it’s always about making sure that communities like mine where I grew up have a voice at the decision making table,” Contreras said. “I wanted to make sure that my community has a shot at the same opportunities as others, no matter what zip code you live in. It is always about being engaged, being curious and asking the tough questions and putting yourself out there and risking the chance of losing.” 

Current candidate Amezcua-Hogan said that although she never pictured herself running for office, she began to consider it after encouragement from others and said that one of the biggest hurdles was overcoming her own self-imposed barriers. 

“I did have a perception of what a politician looks like and that was probably the hardest thing that I had to get over,” Amezcua-Hogan said. “I feel like that’s something that I had to give myself peace and mercy around and realize that a regular person can do it and I do encourage regular people to do it. Stick to your values and don’t just mimic what somebody else is doing because you’re not going to be successful if you’re trying to copy someone else, do it your own way.” 

As the conversation and panelists focused on local government, an overview of the county legislature was also provided for further understanding by Manny Abarca, Jackson County Chairman. 

Abarca shared more insight of one the most common complaints heard by the county: property taxes. Although a topic of interest among most tax-payers, Abarca shared that ideas such as changing collection dates may not be as simple as it may seem, as those are state laws and budgeting implications for the various taxing jurisdictions. 

Attendees heard about the financial impact of not paying property taxes, the shortfall that can occur and the generational burden it can create, and the importance of regional leadership.

Davin Gordon, who served on the Small Business Task Force for the City, reminded people that there are other ways to serve your community and make a difference without having to run for office.  Through the Small Business Task Force, Gordon along with other appointees helped create a long-term strategic plan that would assist the long-term goal of ensuring that small businesses in Kansas City can have the support and resources from the City and continue to grow more businesses in our community. 

In addition to task forces at the City level, Tricia McGhee shared her experience and involvement as a Kansas City Public Schools board member and the importance of using your role to encourage engagement from the community.

“I really want people to feel like if you have something that you want to share, if it’s something you care about, bring it up,” McGhee said. 

The featured speakers closed out the panel by emphasizing the importance of being involved, paying attention to what’s going on at a local level and encouraging others to learn and share their thoughts and concerns. 

“Leadership doesn’t begin when you win an election, it begins when you decide to take responsibility,” Contreras said. 

As the event came to a close, attendees enjoyed dinner and also had the opportunity to directly ask panelists questions over their area of expertise and engage in small group conversations.

The next part of the series, Power Moves: Power on Tap, will take place on April 2nd at Public House at PH Coffee Social Gallery (2200 Lexington Avenue) from 5:30-7:30 pm. This session will provide participants an additional opportunity to speak with elected officials and share concerns. For more information on how to reserve a free spot, visit: powerontap.eventbrite.com